Fire in the Wilderness

Report

The bushfire situation in the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area has worsened significantly in the last 40 years. Neither arson nor accidental ignitions from campfires are the most significant threat. Since the early 2000s fires started by dry lightning have become the most significant concern.

Effective fire management depends on a range of risk management actions, none of which on their own provides a complete solution.

The Giblin River bushfire, started by lightning in Jan 2013, largely burned buttongrass but in places burnt right up onto the mountain range. Photo: Adrian Pyrke

The Tasmanian National Parks Association offers an independent voice for Tasmania’s national parks and reserves, to ensure they are managed for the conservation of the values for which they were proclaimed.